title: Are the three canals equally susceptible to benign paroxysmal positional vertigo?
abstract: A prospective study of patients diagnosed with 'single-canal' benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) was performed. Demographic, etiological and prognostic differences between patients with posterior, horizontal and superior canal BPPV were studied. A total of 614 patients diagnosed in a period of 11 years and with a follow-up period of at least 1 year were included in the study. The posterior semicircular canal was affected in 543 casas (88.4%), the horizontal in 39 (6.4%) and the superior canal in 32 (5.2%). Final status at the end of the follow-up period was better in posterior canal BPPV (95% cure) than in horizontal or superior canal BPPV (87% cure in both cases). This may be explained by two facts: a poorer initial response to repositioning maneuvers in anterior canal BPPV than in BPPV involving the other two canals, and a poorer response to maneuvers in recurrences of horizontal canal BPPV.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurotology, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soto-Varela
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santos-Perez
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rossi-Izquierdo
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Sellero
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D065635:Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo; D005260:Female; D019416:Head Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056888:Patient Positioning; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014717:Vertigo / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests